


Meeting Carnival

by ArthurFlecksGirl



Category: Joker (2019)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Love, Mental Illness, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24024211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArthurFlecksGirl/pseuds/ArthurFlecksGirl
Summary: You see Carnival dancing on the streets and save him from a bunch of kids, after he got beaten up....taking him home with you, taking care of his wounds...
Relationships: Arthur Fleck/You
Kudos: 6





	Meeting Carnival

The cold autumn breeze was cooling my cheeks as I walked down the streets in Gotham city. It was the the time of the year when summer was dying and welcomed fall with the sweetest kiss. I was on my way home from buying some sweets as I heard a piano playing from across the street. Something very unusual for this city. On a usual day, all you could hear was the traffic and people arguing with each other. Hearing some happy melodies fillig the air felt good.I wondered if there was a street party but it wasnt loud enough for that. It just turned out to be a street musician. I walked towards the place where the music came from and hummed the familiar melodie. Music always managed to make me feel better inside. A life without music just wasnt worth living. Sometimes I imagined what my life would be like if I had background music all the time. This would be very interesting. It makes everything more intense. More real.  
Realizing that I am the only one standing in front of the piano man made me sad. All the people just passing by... I couldnt relate. Arent people happy to see someone sharing his talent and passion? I threw him two dollars into his cup and he smiled at me whie he switched to another song. Little moments like that made me feel warm inside. Its just a small gesture but it still means so much.  
I took a close look around me. All the people running by, like they`re eighter too busy to even make eye contact or too depressed to even notice that they`re not alone. Gotham really wasnt a good place to be.  
Something bright yellow hit my eyes as I looked across the street. A small clown dancing to the melodies of the piano man, swinging a yellow sign in his hands. It didnt looked like he was there with the street musician. He just seemed to enjoy the melodies and decited to go with it. Which I really liked. I had to get closer to him.  
I stopped a couple of feets away from him and noticed that it was man in his 30ies. He was wearing really big red and blue shoes, which made his steps look even funnier. He was very playful in his movements, very sure of his dancing. I was convinced that he wasnt doing this for the first time. His baggy pants with patches on it and the yellow vest under a checkered jacket made him look very cute. I never really had a thing for clowns, but this one was adorable, with his big painted on smile and the blue shapes around his eyes. I came a lilttle closer and i could tell from the short distance, that his eyes lookes kinda sad, even though he was laughing all the time. Noticing some brown curls that almost reached his shoulders peaking out on the sides of his big, fluffy, green wig made me feel something I couldnt identify.  
The clown with the sad eyes swung the sign to the left, to the right, above his head. In circles even. He did a really good job and I wanted to give him some dollars, but he had no cup or anything with him. "Maybe he was hired" I thought to myself, as I read the letters on the sign "Everything must go!" . He was dancing right in front of Kenny`s music. I knew they`re going out of buziness.  
I wasnt sure for how long I watched him, but it must have been a while, because the piano man was playing a lot of different songs since I got here.I didnt wanted to leave. The tiney clown man made me feel something. The look on his face....the happiness he spread. The baggy clothes on his body. I bet he was very thin unserneath all the clothes. His ankles looked like I could wrap my hands around them. The same with his skinny wrists. I wondered how he was looking underneath all the white face paint. I bet he was beautiful. The dancing man had a very unique bone structure to his face. Sharp cheekbones and a well defined chin. I was still too far away to tell what the color of his eyes were. I could only tell that there was a sad expression to them.  
It hurt my heart that people wouldnt stop and watch him doing his little dances. Everyone passed by like he wasnt even there. I wonder what he must feel like noticing that. Bing an invisible, small, colorful clown in a dirty grey city. He was the spot of color. The center of joy. The heart of the city. And no ones seemed to notice. To care. It was one more proof of how heartless this city was.  
And then. A minute later, out of the nothing, a bunch of kids passing him buy screamed at him. At first I thought they wanted to thank him but then I heard one of them say "Hey, whats up with your shoes,bro? If you`re gonna be a clown at least you could be a good one. You know that, right?" A second later they pushed the sign he was holding above his head, so it fell down for them to steal it "We got the sign!" they yelled. I couldnt belive what I just saw. "Ahhh" he screamed from the shock of being robbed of his yellow sign "Stop them!". The street kids ran across the street as I watched him following them, almost getting hit by a car. No one was talking notice of him screaming "Stop them!" . He was just as invisible as he was when he was doig his dances. People are unbelivable ignorant these days. I ran down the street as I wasnt frozen from the shock anymore and tried to make out in which alley they disappeared. "Mr Clown?" I yelled, trying not to get hit by the cars. "Mr. Clown, where are you?". The place was way too crowded for him to hear me. But he disappeared so fast that there was only one possible alley he could have ran into.   
I arrived out of breath and shocked when I saw the small clown lying on the ground, gasping for air. His sign lying all around him ,broken into pieces. One of his hands reaching for the remains, the other one on his chest, that lifted up and down so fast it seemed like he couldnt breathe proberly.  
The kids kicked him in the back so hard he easnt moving anymore. I didnt knew what to do. So I just imrovised, not thinking about the risk to get beaten up or even killed myself.  
"Hey you fuckers. I have a gun. You better hurry up and leave the man alone."  
"A gun, huh? Show it to me then" one of the guys said.  
My heart was racing "I will definitaly do more with the gun than just showing it to you if you dare to ask me twice. You wouldnt be the first one."  
"C`mon" his buddy pointed out the alley "This stupid clown isnt worth it"  
The weight of the world fell off my shoulders as they ran away.  
"Oh my god, Mr. Clown, are you hurt?" I kneed down on him as he opened his eyes in pain. It was now tahat I could see the color of it. Green. An incredibly intense kinda green. Piercing and deep. He was so short of air, he couldnt even answer my question. I tried to help him sit up. He was looking so lost there, sitting on the dirty ground of an alley filled with piled up garbage everywhere. "Those kids must have been out of their minds!" I touched his back and noticed that this must have hurt him real bad. "I`m sorry...do you think you broke something?"  
"I....I dont know... Thank you for scaring them away. I was just.... freezing mode I think. This happens to me every time I get....." he was in so much pain.  
"Everytime you`re what? Wait...do you mean that this kinda stuff happened to you before?"  
I helped him to get up. He wasnt much taller than me. "Yeah...sometimes people can be cruel. I guess not everyone is a friend of clowns.  
I picked up the pieces of his yellow sign "But beating you up? You did nothing but dancing, trying to bring some fun into this aweful city"  
"You saw me dancing?" a little less pain on his face now that I told him.  
"Sure. I was watching you for at least half an hour I think. You were great. I loved your little dances and how you swung the....." I looked at the broken pieces I held in my arms .  
"Just leave it here.... Kennys music will kill me when I give them back the remaining pieces of their sign".  
I put them back on the ground.  
"My name is Carnival. I mean. I am Carnival right now. " he smiled. A sad smile. But so warm. "My real name is Arthur. But I`d like to be called Carnival as long as I am in costume and all. I like to stay in character."  
"Well, hello Carnival. I am Y/N!"  
"Hiii Y/N"...well... i dont know how to thank you for this".  
He tried to walk but it was difficult for him. He had a bad lip from getting kicked.  
"I can support you, just hook your arm around mine" I said and he smiled as he did.  
His face was even more beautiful from up close. His voice soft and friendly.  
Walking was so hard for him, he had to sit down after a few steps.  
"Carnival, I´m worried about how bad hurt you really are.Where does it hurt the most?"  
"My back and shoulders" he moved his arms a bit.  
"Can I have a look? I mean....not here. You`ve got so many clothes on. I think we should have a look if you`re bleeding or something".  
He looked at me like he couldnt belive that I cared "You`re so nice to me Y/N. I would invite you to my home but I live with my sick mother and I don`t how she wuld react if I bring a girl....you know..." he was looking down. Almost like he felt ashamed. I felt sorry for him.  
"Thats okay, you can come to my apartment. It isnt far from here so you dont have to walk for longer than five minutes. I got a first aid kit at home, so we can take a look at your wounds if you`re okay with this?"  
"Thank you so much" he said, leaning in on me, limping his way across the street in silence until we arrived where I lived.  
"Just make yourself at home, Carnival." I said as he stood in the middle of my living room. As lost as a little kid that doesnt knew where it was. He sat down carefully. Every move was torture.   
I handed him some pain killers and he swallowed two of them like he was used to swallowing huge pills.  
"We should find those bastards" I said, opening the first said kit.  
"It was just a bunch of kids. I shouldnt have followed them" he replied, looking at my hands.  
"Carnival...do you mind me taking off your jacket?"  
"Nah.."  
I took of his jacket very carefull. So he had to move his arms as less as possible. He tried to open the buttons of his yellow yest, but even this caused him pain. "I can do this for you" I whispered. He nodded thankfully. Opening the bottons of his vest felt weird. Weird in a good way. Almost to intimate for doing this to a stranger you just picked up on the streets.   
His green eyes focused on me with a shy curiousity as I asked him about the shirt "Now the shirt?"  
"Yeah" he sighed.  
I unbottoned his checkered shirt very slowly, feeling his eyes on me. I felt kinda bad for being so attracted to him. Trying not to stare at the brown hair peaking out of the wig.   
I exposed half oh his naked body as we got rid of the shirt. He was even skinnier than I expected. His ribs sharp and defined under his hurt skin. His tummy looked like he has not eaten for days.  
"Lets take a look at your back".  
He turned around so I could see the bleeding parts beneath his bony shoulders.  
"You`re bleeding. I will take care ofthe wounds now. Okay? This could burn a little bit"  
"Okay Y/N"  
I noticed some old bruises on his lower back as I cleaned the bleeding parts.  
"You´ll have some real bad bruises tomorrow im afraid".  
He is nodding. His huge wig looks even bigger than before now that he was topless.  
My fingers touching his hurt skin felt so intimate. I was acutually surprised of myself feeling this way. I havent felt this way for someone, for a long time.  
I took care of every single spot that looked red or hurt. And even to the spots that didnt. I just couldnt get enough of touching his soft skin.  
"Ohhh. I´m getting all sweaty underneath that wig" he said, taking it off.  
I felt even more atrracted now that I saw his real hair in all its beauty. The brown curls messy, strains of it sticking on his forehead. He ran his fingers through, before he smiled at me "I guess you can call me Arthur now".  
"Hi Arthur, nice to meet you" I grinned "Soooo....I guess you`re wounds will be okay now. I´m done"  
"Um....what a pity"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Ohh....nothing I`m sorry..."  
I smiled at him even more "What?"  
"It was just.... it felt good.... I mean... your hands on my skin. It just.....felt good. I wasnt being touched like that since....." his eyes met mine "....forever".  
So many things running through my mind. I wish I had the guts to just grab this beautiful mans face and kiss him right now. But I couldnt. I wanted him wo make the first move. So I just took his glaves off. he was wearing them to make it easier to swing the sign. He layed his hand in mine. So gently it almost hurt.   
I kissed the back of his hand "Are your hands hurt,too?"  
"I`m not sure"  
"Lets have a look...."  
I pressed my lips softly against the back of his hand before I kissed every one of his fingers. Arthur closed his eyes, breathing slowly. His long eyelashes white from the face paint. "I bet you`re even more beautiful behind all the make up" I whispered.  
Arthur chuckled "I dont know...I have never been called beautiful before"  
"You`re kidding"  
"Nah"  
"Must be one of your cown jokes, right?"  
"No"  
Now that his piercing eyes were closed I dared to touch his face and came closer "Well, I hope that you know how beautiful you are to me". He wasnt reacting at all. Just listening.  
I slightly touched his lips with mine. So softly, it was barley a kiss. Breathing against his mouth. His lips still closed. He seemed to be so insecure.  
"I wonder what your red lipstick tastes like" I whisper.  
"Hmmm...have a taste then" he muttered with eyes still closed, waiting for me to take action.  
I pressed my lips against his red smile one more time. His half open lips now welcomed my tongue, which I let gently find its way into his mouth. Tasting the insides of his cheeks. Sliding softly over his crooked teeth. His spit filling my mouth as he layed his hand around my neck. Kissing me back, sucking my bottom lip. he was a great kisser, although he seemed very nevous.  
He put his forhead against mine as our lips parted again.  
"Now you got face paint all over your mouth" he giggled.  
"I would love to seee you without the make up on"  
"You will " he said. "I`ll be out on the streets as Carnival tomorrow again. You can join me if you want. I could paint your face,too. And....I could get got some other clown gear and we could dance there together. As a.....clown couple." He laughs, dshaking his head. "This is....stupid I`m sorry"  
"No this sounds great. Oh I would love to that that Carni....I mean Arthur. Yeah we should definitaly do that tomorrow."  
His eyes light up "And afterwards we could go out on a date. I mean...I have some decent clothes,too."  
My smile grew as I watched him getting more and more excited about this idea.   
"I will take my clown make up off before we go out on our....."  
"Date?"  
"Yeah...I guess....do you want it to be one?"  
"It would be a please Arthur. I cant wait to see you without clown make up"  
He touched my hand "If I wasnt wearing the face paint right now, you could see me blushing..." he grabbed his bag "I wish I didnt had to leave now. But I have to look after my mum. She`s in a very bad condition and ..."  
"You dont have to apologize. We`ll see each other tomorrow, right? You know where I live now. Just ring the doorbell. i´ll beup soon."  
"Sure!"  
"Do you think you can walk?"  
"Yeah I think so. I feel better now. The pain killer are starting to help."  
Arthur waved at me when he was walking out my door and I couldnt wait until tomorow...

THE NEXT DAY  
Arthur was very thoughtful, bringing all his make up and some clown gear with him, so I could choose from different colors and styles. I choose the outfit that similar to his, exept that mine had a purple vest instead of a yellow one. He put a little flower on my jacket, one of those that can splash water into your face when you try to smell them. I called him Carnival again, as soon as he had the costume on. He really seemed to like those kinda playful games and I was fascinated by his passion for it. He was already in full make up when he arrived, so he started to do my face.  
The way he took the brushes, diving them into the paint. I closed my eyes and it felt like it was his fingers across my cheeks and eyelids. The brush bame his fingertips. It felt sexy and couldnt help but fantasizing about sleeping with him. Some moments when he was standing so close to me, painting teh corner of my lips. I was staring at the very thin hair on his arms. The spots on teh back of his hands. I was obsessed with the details of his body. So drawn to his presence. There was soemthing so romantic about him painting my lips. hHe was really good at it.  
"Foe how long have you been a party clown now?" I asked him as he finished my look.  
"Some years." he replied, pointing at the mirror "There we go. How do you like it?"  
I took a look at my reflection "Wow. I barely recognize myself. You did an awesome job, Carni!"  
I saw him smile underneath the fake smile while he was putting his wig on.  
"I`m glad you like it" his smile exposed his little crooked tooth.  
I pulled out some chockolate hearts and handed them to him "Those are for you. I hope you like sweets" . He screamed in his clown voice "Ahhhh I love chockolate." He took two heart shaped pieces and put them in his mouth.  
We packed our stuff and got in the elevator. I felt the excitement inside of me growing.  
"So do you have any choreography to your dances? I mean.. I never did that before. Can you show me?"  
"Oh I dont have one. Just dance how you feel it. Just listen to the music inside of you".  
"I`m not sure I can do that"  
Carnival took my hand, after he put another chockolate heart between his lips, starting to do a lil dance. "See? Just go with it. You really cant do anything wrong". As soon as he held my hand it seemed so easy to even dance without any music. It was a natural instinct. We danced until the elevator stopped and got out on te streets, hand in hand. I couldnt belive I was waering full clown gear, having this beautifuk man on my side. He was still limping a bit from yesterday but he said the pain wouldnt stop him from dancing out on the streets with me.  
"Over there" he pointed at across the street "Its a good spot to dance. I got my cassette player with us and I will put on some funny songs."  
Two minutes later I found myself dancing with Carnival on the streets of Gotham city. He took my hand, spinning me around in circles. Laughing in his high clown voice. The smile underneath his painted lips so genuie it hit me right in the heart. Sometimes he sang along to the songs payling. I was familiar with some of the lyrics, so we sang together for a little while.  
I want sure if people were looking at us. Or if I was part of the invisible magic now. I didnt cared as long as I was with him.  
As the first dide of the cassette was over, he leaned in on me, kissing my red lips. "From now on you`re my clown princess" he whispered.  
I wasnt sure who he was.   
Or what he has been through.  
All I knew that I was happy.  
And I couldnt wait to get his clown make up off in the evening...


End file.
